Dubai had never been on my wish list of places to visit but Stu had spent a weekend there on his way to India and after seeing all the pictures it looked like a place Tom and Izzy would really enjoy. We therefore booked ourselves just over a week and planned to spend 2 nights in Abu Dhabi, 1 night at Atlantis the Palm and 5 nights in downtown Dubai.

Arrival in Abu Dhabi

We took an Emirates overnight flight out of Birmingham Airport on the Friday after the kids broke up for their October half term and landed in Dubai Saturday morning (after a one hour delay in Birmingham due to frost on the plane wings – and a 2 hour delay circling Dubai Airport due to fog). We then hired a car and drove 2 hours to Abu Dhabi.

We arrived at the hotel – The Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana, and it was definitely the grandest hotel we have ever stayed in!

^{Inside the foyer of the hotel}

We had been unable to get a family room so we had booked 2 twin rooms. We arrived before check in and they were kind enough to let us have one of the rooms early (the other wasn’t ready) so we made our way upstairs. The room had a balcony and the view was incredible – we could see the Emirates Palace in the distance. We were all a little jaded so had a quick nap for an hour or so.

We needed to get some lunch and didn’t fancy eating out so went for a wander outside to see what we could find. There was a shopping centre next door with a Waitrose so we bought some snacks and Pain au Chocolates for Tom & Izzy and headed back. It must have been the poshest shopping centre we’ve ever been in and it was empty! By this stage Stu and Tom’s room was ready so we sorted our luggage out and got ready to venture to the pool and beach.

The pool was lovely and rather quiet with plenty of sun loungers around it. We played for a bit and then walked down the path to the beach. The water was so warm. It got deep quite quick and there was a floating pontoon the kids could swim out to and jump off which was fun. We stayed out until sunset – which was only about 5.30pm

^{The hotel beach}

For tea the hotel had a buffet which changed themes each evening – tonight’s theme was South East Asia so we thought we’d give it a try. It wasn’t cheap but it was so good. Tom and Izzy love being able to help themselves and try lots of things. Tom was particularly excited as there was sushi and there were about 10 desserts you could choose from.

We went back up to our rooms for an early night (the kids especially enjoyed playing in the glass lifts on the way up) and enjoyed the view off the balcony as all the buildings were lit up.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

The following morning we were first down to the buffet breakfast – which again was amazing….. fruit, cereals, cooked items, pastries etc. We needed to leave early as we had tickets booked to visit the Grand Mosque at about 10am. We arrived and parked underground then walked through a shopping centre to the mosque. We were early so it was very quiet and we were through security in no time at all.

I needed to wear a special robe so got changed – the lady asked Izzy would she like one too but she refused (I thought she’d want to). We then went up an escalator to the outside of the Mosque. Despite it being super early – the heat hit us as we went outside – it must have been about 32 degrees already! We walked around the Mosque which was incredible – the chandeliers were amazing and we got to see the worlds largest carpet. We ended up taking the shuttle bus back to the entrance as it was too hot to walk!

^{The Grand Mosque}

^{Inside the Mosque}

After touring the Mosque we thought we should stop off at M&S to buy some lunch – unfortunately M&S didn’t sell any take away food so we headed to the hotel to try out one of their restaurants. We ended up at Kamoon, a Middle Eastern Restaurant on the poolside and ordered some food to share. The kids had chicken whilst Stu and I had some hummus and kebabs – again it was very good!

^{Food at Kamoon}

It was another afternoon spent in the pool and on the beach until sunset which everyone enjoyed

^{Beach time}

^{Sunset pictures}

And, another evening in the hotel buffet – where tonight it was Italian themed. We returned to our room and noticed that lights were moving on the Emirates Palace and realised there was a light show. If we’d known we would have gone to watch but we did get a pretty good view from our balcony.

We had no expectations about Abu Dhabi and we all really enjoyed it but it was time to head to Atlantis in the morning.